Tax experts lend hand to Staten Island immigrants

Carlos Brigido doesn't like it when people say immigrants don't pay taxes. When someone from El Centro de Hospitalidad asked the Staten Island resident if he wanted to have his taxes done, he immediately said, "Yes."

"I want to comply with the law," he said, noting that he didn't know where to turn for help beforehand. "I think if everybody pays taxes, they won't have problems."

More than 25 people signed up -- and others dropped in -- to take part in Cash Back 2008 today at El Centro, located at 1546 Castleton Ave. in Port Richmond.

A partnership between El Centro and the Citizens Committee for New York City, the initiative is designed to help first-time immigrant filers and other low-income earners on Staten Island take advantage of tax credits and free tax preparation.

Four employees from Manhattan-based FoodChange were on hand to help community members file their taxes through electronic filing. The mobile tax preparation site also included information on health insurance and food stamps.

"The reason we're doing this is to teach our community about their civic duty to pay taxes," said Gonzalo Mercado, executive director of El Centro. "We're making sure everyone knows if you work here, you pay taxes."

Mercado noted that Cash Back seeks to dispel the myth that undocumented people are not paying taxes.

"It's not that immigrants don't want to pay for taxes," said Pinky Vincent, program manager for Citizens Committee. "They have so many questions."

She noted that many undocumented people also don't realize that they could get money back from the government by filing taxes. They could qualify for tax credits, she said, and receive exemptions for the financial upkeep of their families in Mexico and Canada. In the last two years, the initiative helped 11,000 people get $10 million back in refunds.

Future tax preparation events will be held on March 29 and April 6 at El Centro. Appointments are recommended. For more information, call 718-420-6466.